Food package and method of making same



Oct. 8, 1968 1.. A. HURWITZ 3,404,793

FOOD PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed NOV. 16, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. Lou/s A. H02 140 7'2 Oct. 8, 1968 L. A. HUR-WITZ 3,404,793

FOOD PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Nov. 16, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 30 7' 4 :7 r r w FIGJZ FIGJES INVENTOR. low: A. Hue 14072 United States Patent O j ABSTRACT OF DISCLOSURE v This invention is of an aluminum package for foodstulfs,wherein the interior of the package can be evacuated or provided with a predetermined atmosphere if desired. Thenovel package is.formed in two sections, there being mating surfaces which comprise a generally coplanar shoulder and a continuous upstanding flange at right angles to such shoulder. In addition, there is provided an evacuatingv tube at such mating surfaces,.; and sealing means is provided along a portion of the juxtaposed fianges to enable the seal to be disrupted without destroying the additional support afforded by the shoulder and flange. I I. I

The present invention relates generally to packages for foodstuffs and to'methods for making the same, and more particularly to packages made of thin metal foil.

Merchandising procedures and apparatus have undergone considerable and drastic changes within the past several decades. Particularly within the United States,

methods and equipment employed in merchandising food of virtually every description bear little, if any, resemblance to corresponding methods and equipment of twenty yearsor so ago. The advent of large self-service supermarkets has brought about the need for unusual dis-plays and packages to make sure that the consumer is quickly and completely informed as to the contents of a given package and to enable the consumer to serve himself without the need for clerks or attendants of any kind.

1 Today, many food products are purchased fully cooked requiring nothing more than to be heated to' the proper serving temperature. In fact, it is now possible to buy complete meals of substantially any kind, and to render it edible merely by heating the various ingredients to the proper serving temperature. Sheet metal containers of various designs and constructionshave been in greater demand within recent years because they are relatively inexpensive to produce in extremelylarge quantities and provide virtually'all of the desirable functions.

Many food products must be packaged within an evacuated container or within a container having a special atmosphere. That is, for the preservation of the taste,

smell or other characteristics of the food, some foodstuffs must be contained within an atmosphere free of ordinary air or containing certain kinds of gases. Other foods tend to spoil or decay rapidly when exposed to ordinary air for considerable periods of time. These and many other reasons suggest the need for an hermetically sealed package which can be evacuated or wherein a predetermined atmosphere can be provided.

Pack-ages heretofore employed for edible foods have not been particularly well adapted for reuse after the purchaser has opened the package. That is, with respect to many foodstuffs, the purchaser may use only a portion thereof from withina given package, and thereafter transfer the remaining contents to a bowl or dish. This procedure has been prevalent in the past due to the fact that the usual food package has not been so constructed as to be reuseable while providing a relatively tig-ht, dirt-free package.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a 3,404,798 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 ICC package for food-stuffs which can be formed of relatively thin sheet material and which can be evacuated to a relatively high degree, I

Another object of the present invention is to provide a package for foodstulfs'as characterized above having tubular means affording communication between the exterior and interior of the package whereby the interior can be evacuated, or can be provided with a predetermined atmosphere. v

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a package for foodstuffs as characterized above wherein heat sensitive sealing means is employed for hermetically sealing the entire package.

Another object of the present invention is to teacha method of making a package for foodstuffs wherein an evacuating tube is formed integrally with the cover to act as a handle therefor, if need be.

A still further object of the present invention is to teach a method of making a package for foodstuffs as characterized above wherein the cover is hermetically sealed to a pan except for an evacuating tube therebetween, such tube being hermetically sealed after the interior of the package has been evacuatedor provided with a special atmosphere. I

A further object of the present invention is to teach a method of making a package of lightweight sheet material as characterized above whereby the top and/ or sides of the package will not collapse when the package is evacuated.

Another further object of the present invention is to provide a package for foodstulfs as characterized above which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and which is rugged and dependable in operation.

The novel features which I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The device itself, however, both as to its organization and mode of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: I

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a package according to the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective exploded view of such package following completion of one step in the method of making same. I

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the cover and pan of the subject package following a succeeding step in the method of making same. i

FIGURE 4 is a similar view following another step in the method of making same.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the package while being evacuated and sealed.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the corresponding portion of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of a'package and supporting die therefore showing another step in making the subject package.

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 9' is a side elevational view of the subject package, showing an additional step in the method of making same. I

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE ll is a fragmentary sectional view of FIG- URE 1O taken substantially along line 1111.

FIGURE 12 is a side elevational view of the completed package, and 1 FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of such package shown partly opened.

Like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, there is shown therein a container or package 20 comprising a pan 22 and a cover 24 therefor. Pan 22 is formed with a bottom wall 26 and a continuous side wall 28. As will be readily apparent to those persons skilled in the art, the side wall of package 20 may be formed as one endless circular or oval member or it may be formed of a plurality of relatively flat side members joined together to provide the upstanding side wall 28 enabling the pan 22 to hold suitable solids and liquids.

Pan 22 may be formed of any appropriate sheet material such as aluminum foil or thin plastic material. A primary consideration in selecting such material is to insure a relatively lightweight package. Bottom wall 26 may be corrugated or formed with ribs, as desired, to provide the necessary strength for such surface. In fact, for reasons which will hereinafter become more apparent, it is preferable to provide bottom wall 26 with a generally waflie" pattern to provide the necessary strength and other functions. The side wall 28 and pan 22 may be formed with suitable vertical ribs 281: for providing additional strength thereto as is common in the packaging art.

The upper marginal edge of the side wall 28 is provided with support means 30 in the form of a continuous coplanar shoulder 32 and an upstanding continuous flange 34 at substantially right-angles. Such support means 30, of course, may be formed integrally with the continuous side wall 28 of pan 22.

Cover 24 is formed with a continuous surface 36 for mating engagement with coplanar shoulder 32. The central portion 38 of cover 24 is recessed as a result of annular angles 40 and 42 formed in the cover. About the marginal edge of cover 24 there is provided an upstanding flange 44 for abutting engagement with flange 34 of pan 22.

As will be readily apparent to those persons skilled in the art, cover 24 of package 20 is provided with the same general shape or contour as pan 22. That is, in the event coplanar shoulder 32 of pan 22 is annular in shape, then the surface 36 of cover 24 should have a corresponding annular shape. Alternatively, if pan 22 is generally square or rectangular, then such shoulder 32 and surface 36 should be correspondingly shaped.

An evacuation tube 46 is provided for insertion between cover 24 and pan 22 for reasons which will hereinafter be described in greater detail. Such tube may be formed integrally with the cover or may be formed separately thereof, as desired.

As shown most clearly in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, it has been found most desirable to form evacuating tube 46 integrally with cover 24 in a single die-forming operation. That is, by the use of suitable forming and cutting dies it is possible to form a single piece of sheet material such as thin aluminum to provide not only the surface 36 and flange 44, but also to provide the member 48 and 50 in a generally T-shaped configuration along the marginal edge of cover 24. Member 50 is approximately three times the width of member 48 to provide sections 50a, 50b, and 50c. Scoring lines 52 may be provided to enable the various sections of member 50 to be folded one on top of the other as will hereinafter be explained.

Such forming operation can also be used to form a through opening 54 between the members 48 and 50 as shown in FIGURE 2. Such opening 54 is generally elliptical in shape, and semi-elliptical surfaces are provided at 56 and 58 at the ends of sections 50a and 500 of member 50.

The evacuation tube 46 is then formed by folding the members 50a and 500 over the section 501), and then folding the entire member 50 downwardly against the member 48, the through opening 54 thereby forming the inlet to the tube 46.

As shown most clearly in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, the member 50 is of such length with respect to the member 48 that the resulting evacuation tube 46 extends well beneath the cover 24.

A small continuous head of heat-sensitive sealing means 60 is then positioned about the entire periphery of cover 24, along the flange 44. Also, a short bead 62 of such heat-sensitive sealing meanscan be positioned along the back of the evacuation tube,46 and corresponding sealing means can be inserted within such tube, including between the various sections 50a, 50b and 500 thereof.

With the cover and exhaust tube thus formed, the contents to be contained within the package 46 may be placed therein. The cover and tube' are then placed on the pan 22 as shown most clearly in FIGURE 4. The continuous surface 36 of the cover abuts against and rests on the shoulder 32 ofpan 22. The bead 60 of sealing material is thus interposed between the upstanding flange 44 of cover 24 and the corresponding flange 34 of pan 22.

Such positioning of cover 24 and tube 46 causes the latter to assume a somewhat curved position as shown in FIGURE 4.

' Any suitable evacuating means may be employed for removing the air from container 20, but it is most desirable that the end 64 of the hose 66 leading from such evacuating means be relatively thin for insertion within the evacuating tube 46. With the end 64 thus inserted as shown in FIGURES 5 and 8, heating means such as circular wire or metal element 68 is positioned within th cover 24 and expanded so as to urge upstanding flange 44 of cover 24 outwardly against the corresponding flange 34 of pan 22. Such heating means may be formed of suitable electrically conductive material such that when electrical current is passed therethrough it is caused to reach a predetermined temperature which is sufficient for rendering the heat-sensitive material 60 soft and tacky and causing the same to fuse together the flanges 44 and 34.

To aid the heat-sensitive material in firmly bonding flange 44 and 34, the entire container or package 20 should be placed in a suitably formed die 70 which is shaped to snugly receive such package. As such, the outward force of heating element 68 is resisted by the die 70 so that the flanges 44 and 34 are firmly pressed together.

Although various other methods may be employed, the procedure shown in the drawings for hermetically sealing the package utilizes the end portion 64 of the hose leading from the evacuating equipment to maintain the evacuation tube 46 open while the periphery of the package is being sealed. By employing an appropriate coating on such end portion 64, the exhaust tube 46 is prevented from becoming sealed. However, the sections 50a and 50c of the member 50 which make up the evacuation tube 46 are sealed together and the section 50b is also firmly and hermetically secured to the flange 34. Thus, the entire periphery of cover 24 is firmly and hermetically secured to the pan, while the evacuation tube 46 remains open.

The interior of such package is then evacuated by use of the equipment for that purpose. Alternatively, if it is desired to provide a particular gaseous atmosphere within such package 20, suitable pump means may be employed instead of such evacuating apparatus.

After the interior of the package has been properly treated, the tube 46 is sealed. This can be accomplished by any appropriate means such as by the use of heating device 72 shown in FIGURES 10 and 11. Such heating device may take any one of a variety of forms and designs, but may comprise a pair of electro-responsive heating rods 74 and 76 which are caused to engage the opposite sides of tube 46 while pinching or pressing the same together. Such operation, of course, is preferably performed while the package is evacuated or while the special atmosphere is being pumped thereto.

Thus, there is provided a package which is made of lightweight sheet material which is strong and able to withstand the pressures created by the vacuum therewithin. In this regard, it is'seen that a partial vacuum Within package 20 causes the higher exterior pressure to force downwardly on the cover 24 thereby causing the surface 36 thereof to firmly engage the shoulder 32 of pan 22. Not only does this tend to insure the hermetic seal between the cover and the pan, but such firm abutting connection tends to afford rigidity or stiffness to the cover 24 so that in spite of the fact that it is formed of relatively thin flexible material such cover remains exceptionally strong and unyielding. In this regard, it should be realized further that the attached upstanding flanges 44 and 34 also assist in providing rigidity to the completed package. Such mating flanges properly center the cover on the pan and also tend to hold the cover in place.

The ribber or waflie patterned bottom wall 26 also provides strength to the completed package since the angularly disposed areas afforded by the waffle pattern provide strong edges in all directions which resist bending. Such pattern also provides many recesses wherein water can accumulate while food-stuffs within the package remains on top of the waflie pattern. Thus, upon using the package as a cooking device the water is heated beneath the food properly cooking the latter and preventing it from sticking or adhering to the container.

Once the tube 46 has been properly sealed it can be bent downwardly adjacent the side 28 of the container. As such, it is out of the way enabling a plurality of such containers 20 to be stacked one on top of the other in a compact and convenient manner. Subsequently, such tube 46 can be pried upwardly by the purchaser and used as a handle or lever in handling the cover 24.

As shown most clearly in FIGURES 1, 4, 9, 12 and 13, it has been found most desirable to provide the flanges 44 and 43 with scoring lines 78 and 80 respectively whereby the package 20 can be conveniently opened by the purchaser. As shown most clearly in FIGURE 6 of the drawings, such scoring lines should be beneath the sealing means 60 so that the upper portions of the flanges 44 and 43 can be removed to thereby open the package 20. That is, as shown in FIGURE 13 of the drawings, by having the scoring lines beneath the sealed portion of the flanges, it is merely necessary to pull the evacuating tube 46 to one side to tear the flanges along the scoring lines 78 and 80. Thus, the sealed portions of the flanges are removed with the evacuating tube 46 thereby leaving the cover 24 on the pan 22. The cover, of course, can be removed from the pan to expose the contents thereof, the seal of the container having been broken by the removal of the sealed portions of the flanges.

As will be readily apparent to those persons skilled in the art, the cover 24 can be reused frequently with the pan 22. In this regard, it should be noted that the remaining portion of flange 44 firmly engages the remaining portion of flange 34 so that a sanitary seal remains therebetween. Thus, the cover snugly fits in place on the pan so that the entire package is reusable.

It is thus seen that the present invention provides a package which can be made of sheet aluminum or the like, and also teaches a method for making such a package.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lightweight package for foodstuffs comprising in combination, a pan having a bottom wall and at least one side wall formed with a continuous shoulder thereabout and a continuous flange at substantially right angles to said shoulder and spaced from said side wall, a cover for said pan having an annular surface for engagement with the shoulder of said pan and another surface at substantially right angles to said annular surface for engagement with the continuous flange on said pan, an evacuating tube formed integrally with said cover to afford access into said package when said cover is on said pan, and sealing means between said continuous flange and said other surface of said cover and within said evacuating tube whereby said package can be hermetically sealed following evacuation thereof.

2. A lightweight package for foodstuffs according to claim 1, wherein said sealing means is positioned between said flange and other surface along a predetermined minimum portion of engagement thereof.

3. A lightweight package for foodstuffs comprising in combination, a pan having a bottom wall and a continuous side wall formed with a continuous L-shaped annular flange about the top marginal edge, a cover for said pan having a continuous L-shaped surface forming the marginal edge for mating engagement with the flange of said pan, an evacuating tube formed integrally with said cover to afford access into said package when said cover is on said pan, and sealing means interposed between mating surfaces of said flange and L-shaped surface but only along a predetermined minimum portion of one pair of said pan, predetermined minimum portion of one pair of mating surfaces thereof to enable said seal to be broken without diminishing the support afforded by said L-shaped flange and surface.

4. A lightweight package for foodstuffs according to claim 3 wherein said cover is formed of relatively thin aluminum sheet material, the L-shaped surface and flange affording support therefor upon evacuation of said package.

5. A lightweight package for foodstuffs comprising in combination, a pan having an upstanding continuous side wall, a support on said pan comprising means affording a coplanar surface extending from the marginal edge of said upstanding wall forming a shoulder at substantially right-angles thereto and means forming a continuous upstanding flange on said shoulder in spaced relation to the upstanding side wall of said pan, a cover for said pan having an angularly formed marginal edge for mating engagement with the shoulder and flange of said pan, an evacuating tube formed integrally with said cover, and sealing means interposed between the upstanding flange of said pan and the adjacent surface of the marginal edge of said cover and within said evacuating tube, whereby said cover can be hermetically sealed to said pan and said evacuating tube can be hermetically sealed following evacuation of said package, said coplanar surface and annular flange thereon affording support for said cover.

6. A lightweight package for foodstuffs according to claim 5 wherein adjacent portions of the marginal edge of said cover and the flange of said pan are provided with a continuous scoring whereby said marginal edge and flange may be separated for opening said package.

7. A lightweight package for foodstuffs according to claim 5 wherein said pan and cover are formed of thin sheet aluminum provided with reinforcing ribs to provide strength and rigidity.

8. A lightweight package for foodstuffs according to claim 5 wherein the cover and evacuating tube are integrally die-formed out of a single sheet of thin aluminum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,425,259 8/ 1947 Mallord 53-22 2,709,519 5/ 1955 Cushman 53-22 2,811,152 10/1957 Wicks 229-3.5 2,875,683 3/1959 Burns 229-3.5

JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner. 

